3D Super Hang-On (3DS) review

"Should be called Motion Controls Super Hang-On."

Don't play 3D Super Hang-On in 3D.

There are a couple of reasons to turn your 3D slider down when playing Super Hang-on. You'd think that a racing game like this one would benefit from the effect, but sadly, that's not the case. For some reason, the other racers all appear to be on the same plane as you, no matter how far away they actually are. Depth perception should, in theory, make it easier to avoid opponents as you zoom along the highway, but here it’s more distracting than helpful.

Much like in 3D Space Harrier, M2 have added optional screen tilt to this version of Super Hang-On, but this time they've gone a step further, adding the ability to control your bike by tilting the system left and right. For those unfamiliar with the game's arcade machine, the main appeal of the game was the motorcycle players would sit on. Doing so allowed them to lean left and right to control their on-screen racer. While 3D Super Out-Run doesn't go so far as offering a free motorcycle with every download, the motion controls and tilting screen are as faithful to the original experience as they can be. The game is easier to control with the circle pad, but it's much more fun with motion controls, and that's the important thing, right?

Super Hang-On isn't a traditional racing game in that other racers have little effect on your performance besides getting in your way. You'll rebound if you collide with them, but you won't crash unless you go off-road and hit a billboard or a rock or something (the crashing animations are surprisingly satisfying to watch, but unfortunately it only seems to happen to you). There's an unlimited number of bikers on the road, but your main goal is to get to the end of the course before time runs out. You start with a certain amount of time on the clock, which counts down until you reach a checkpoint, at which point you'll earn more time that gives you the chance to make it to the next checkpoint, etc.. On the default settings, the time limit is quite strict. You'll almost certainly fail your first attempt. Thankfully, this version includes difficulty options for both the other racers and for the time limit, meaning players can adjust the settings to suit their level of skill.

The standard courses are all here. Each course is a race across a continent, on suspiciously winding roads considering there's not a single building or mountain or anything to be seen, except for sometimes on a horizon you'll never reach. You can switch between the Sit-Down and Mini Ride-On versions of the game, which have slightly different courses. Course length varies, between 6 stages for the Beginner-ranked Africa course, and 18 for the Expert-ranked Europe course. This version also includes the unlockable marathon “World Mode” that was present in certain other home versions of the game. World Mode has you race through all four courses, 48 stages in all, and takes around a half-hour to get through. It's nice to experience once or twice, but you may want to just stick with the regular courses.

3D Super Hang-On gets its 3D effect strangely wrong, but the motion controls and screen tilt are sufficiently well-implemented that they more than make up for it. Super Hang-On's basic gameplay may not be the most interesting thing in the world, but the motion controls actually make it a lot of fun. It's probably okay to skip other non-arcade versions of Super Hang-On, but 3D Super Hang-On is well worth your time.

Rhody likes to press the keys on his keyboard. Sometimes the resulting letters form strings of words that kind of make sense when you think about them for a moment. Most times they're just random gibberish that should be ignored. Ball-peen wobble glurk.

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pickhut posted December 17, 2013:

This was actually one of the 3D games I was thinking of getting, so it's pretty unfortunate that its 3D is all screwed up for some reason. The tilt controls sound neat, though I hope it performs well during really tight cornering and squeezes.

3D Super Out-Run sounds like a crazy game... but I'm sure that was just a mistake. I think reviewing all these 3D Sega titles is getting to you. xD

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